Tech

Sonos Smart Speaker Review: The Amazing Sound & Features You Need

Enjoying great, high-quality sound has become a necessity in most of our lives.

Even still, finding speakers which live up to this isn’t easy. However, the Sonos Smart speaker enables you to experience immersive sound and voice control for music and more. If you’re searching for a device which delivers exceptional quality at a reasonable price, this is everything you could hope for. Let’s take a look at its features, and who it’s suitable for.


A Bit About the Sonos Smart Speaker

If you've been burned by the promise of great, quality sound before, only to find out that the speakers didn't live up to the hype, it's time to reassess. The Sonos Smart Speaker is different. Let's take a look at the brand's background and who this product is best for.

sonos smart speaker

Credit: Crutchfield

Background about Sonos

Sonos is an American electronics company founded by John MacFarlane in 2002. John moved to Santa Barbara in 1990 to receive his PhD from University of California-Santa Barbara. However, he built a website along with Craig, Tom and Trung. This led to more impressive Internet capabilities. They knew they wanted to continue working together in the future, and remain in Santa Barbara where the Internet was at the core of blowing up.

The four founders knew they wanted to create products which would change people’s lives. After a first pitch for a company which didn’t go successfully, they generated a new idea from a mutual love of music and irritants of storing hundreds of CDs. Tidying speaker wires and limiting sound quality with poor speakers, a new idea birthed.

However, in 2002, technology didn’t yet exist to enable them to make this dream come true. The team of ambitious friends sketched a prototype in 2004 to challenge how music could transmit from a device to a speaker without any wires involved.

In 2009, Sonos release the PLAY:5 – an all-in-one speaker about a third of Sonos’ original product. This marked a decisive shift towards continual software upgrades for continuous improvement in their products, and created close relationships with recording artists and people in their community.

Who is the Sonos Smart Speaker is Great For?

Ultimately, the Sonos Smart speaker is an ideal product for anyone who has a passion for music. If you love listening to music aloud whilst cleaning or perhaps hosting parties, this wonderful product can completely transform a dull environment into a positive, party-ready space.

It’s Sonos’ biggest and best speaker and is an essential for hard-core music lovers. If you have a large room to fill, this speaker will bless your ears no matter if you’re next to it, or far in the corner. However, it doesn’t compromise quality for volume, so even when it’s loud, there’s no distortion.

Thanks to the immense woofers, it delivers big, precise bass without any echoes. Consequently, if you love listening to music with a strong beat, we recommend purchasing this Sonos Smart speaker to hear segments of your favourite tracks you didn’t even knew existed.

This device plays the most popular streaming services, on-demand services, Internet radio, podcasts and audiobooks, so there are little limitations for what you can listen to. If you’re too busy to read a book, or listen to your favourite podcasts, switch it on in the background and clean the house at the same time to bless your day with things you enjoy.

What are the Best Uses for the Sonos Smart Speaker?

The Sonos Smart speaker is great for multiple people, because you can plug in any audio device quickly. You can also send the music from your Play:5 to any other Sonor speaker in your home. Invite your friends around for a get-together for a chilled catch-up, or crazy antics. The Play 5 is designed with thousands of microscopic holes to give you the most transparent sound without any interference. As a result, we think it’s great to use in a loud environment or busy household.

As it connects to your home Wi-Fi with any 2.4 GHz broadcast-capable router, it offers uninterrupted wireless streaming. That means you can listen to music whilst other people in the house are downloading at the same time.


Features & Benefits of The Sonos Smart Speaker 

With numerous features and unlimited capabilities, the Sonos Smart speaker is a great asset in any home. Differing from other speakers on the market, it offers excellent sound quality which carries even in a large room.

We love that you can also purchase additional accessories for this device, such as a wall mount, stand, Playbar and more. Keep it presentable on display to wow visitors and make it easier to access the buttons too.

For an exceptional price, you can customise the settings to how you like to listen to music. Let’s take a look at its many features and what makes it so likeable.

1. Multi-Room Speakers 

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Credit: Amazon

The Sonos Smart speaker wireless connects to other Sonos speakers in additional rooms to enable you to expand your home sound system. This is an excellent feature because it enables you to listen to your music as you move around your home from room to room.

If you’re prone to home parties, the Sonos Smart speaker allows you to keep the party going for everyone no matter what room they’re in. It’s definitely the easiest multi-room speakers to set up. Consequently, it’s ideal in challenging wireless environments. We’re completely amazed at the price of this product given its multi-room features, and it’s an exactly choice for high-quality sound.

Connect a Sub to your Play:5 for dramatic bass. Since the Play:5 doesn’t have to worry about the bass anymore, you can add more devices to expand and extend the sound.

2. Simple, But Stylish Design

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Credit: Amazon

We love that the Sonos Smart speaker comes in a simple design. Its physical buttons on top keep it looking tidy and minimalist. Rather than having a typical speaker with rough edges, this has smooth edges which we love. That matte plastic finish gives it a classy look and comes in a choice of black or white. As it’s made in such a specific way, it easily blends into any room.

The overall design is simple, yet exceptionally good. As a result, it’s easy to use and even a great product for those who aren’t tech savvy. By swiping two fingers on the pad, the song will skip forward, and if you glide your fingers the other day, it will skip backward.

3. Excellent Sound Quality

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Credit: Amazon

The most important feature of the Sonos Smart speaker is the sound quality. It has an amazing ability to fill even a big room with a rich and powerful sound. With its Class D amplifiers and almost three times the acoustic horsepower of the previous edition, it delivers a wide sound.

The big and powerful versions of the custom-designed 10cm mid-woofers provide an out-of-this-world sound. If you appreciate music, you’ll love that this speaker enables you to separate instrument, voice and sonic detail in all its glory. The six dedicated speaker drivers deliver crystal clear, rich and deep sound with no distortion. The three mighty woofers and completely-sealed architecture, the Sonos Smart speaker delivers a big, precise bass response without any echoes. This is Sonos’ biggest and best-sounding speaker featuring six amplifiers with six dedicated speaker drivers. Fill a large room with pure, brilliant sound.

In order to achieve excellent sound, the speaker uses Trueplay. This feature analyses the room size, layout, décor, speaker placement any other acoustic factors which could impact the sound quality. It then cleverly adjusts each woofer and tweeter to produce a clear sound. Trueplay balances a Sonos home cinema setup, with or without a Sub. You can integreate this speaker to your home cinema system in any room, and it’ll enhance the sound.

4. Alexa Connected Device

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Credit: Amazon

The built-in Amazon Alexa makes a full-fledged smart-home hub. You can use Alexa to play music via voice control and control your smart-home accessories. When connected to an Echo using a cable or Bluetooth, the Play 5 plays music in the stereo when set down horizontally. Connect the speaker to any Amazon Echo or Alexa-enabled device, then simply ask for the music you love to play, and it’ll follow your instructions. Using the Alexa tool, you can adjust the volume easily without being right next to the device to control it with your hand.

5. Enjoy No Interference

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Credit: Amazon

We love that the Sonos Smart speaker offers no interference. Sometimes, even the best speakers can distort when you increase the volume. However, this speaker contains thousands of microscopic holes which give you transparent sound every time. As it also connects via Wi-Fi, you can stream your music without it buffering. Even if someone else in your home is using the public network to download items, you can still enjoy crystal-clear music.

6. Stand It Up Any Way

sonos smart speaker

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If you have limited storage space for the Sonos Smart speaker, that doesn’t mean you have to miss out on using it. Stand it tall or set it on its side to play music loud and clear. No matter its position, the speaker automatically optimises the sound and the rubber feet on three sides make it safe on a variety of surfaces.

7. Easy-To-Use App

sonos smart speaker

Credit: Automated Lifestyles

You might be concerned that the Sonos Smart speaker requires a technical head to operate it. However, the Sonos app helps you quickly search through all your services to track down your favourite music, and adjust in different rooms throughout your house. This means that you don’t even need to be in the same room as the speaker to change a track or customize the settings. If your friends have the Sonos app, they can add songs to the queue and see the same settings you can.

The speaker plays everything from the app. This includes a variety of popular streaming services, so if you have Spotify but would like to switch to iTunes, the speaker can handle this adjustment.

The Navigation bar makes finding songs effortless. Everything you need is at the bottom of the app so you can transition between music quicker than before. Change form one playlist to another, and add songs on the go quickly and easily. Find, select and change what’s playing, all from one place. The Room Selection category enables you to simply tap the room you’d like to add/adjust the music in. Everything you need is to hand and simple to use.


What Other People Say About the Sonos Smart Speaker

The Sonos Smart Speaker is popular amongst music-lovers due to its excellent sound quality and ability to connect to other devices around the home. As the Play 5 is big and heavy, it’s as solid as a rock as each speaker inside has its own amp. Unless you want to pair them in stereo, one Sonos Smart speaker is enough to fill a room with sound. The horizontal sounds better quality than the vertical when it’s on a shelf. The Play 5 takes up less room, and is an excellent option if you have limited storage space.

PROS:

  • plus
    Excellent sound quality which can fill an entire room
  • plus
    A perfect choice for large spaces
  • plus
    An elegant piece with high-quality and modern design

CONS:

  • close
    Trouble connecting to the Internet when first setting up
  • The customer service support isn’t always available when you need it

For a small device, the music is clear and excellent quality with rich tones which can shake frames on the wall. The app is easy to set up and walks you through all of the steps, and is even perfect for people who aren’t comfortable with technology. Most past customers highly recommend the fathomably good sound quality which you can control from your iPhone, iPad, Mac and laptop. Customers highly recommend this Sonos Smart Speaker for house parties because you can play the same song in multiple rooms. Alternatively, mix up the party by playing different genres for a themed party. Many positive reviews focus on this feature because it enables users to customize their music experience.


Alternative Audio Products To Try

If you’re looking for an alternative product to the Sonos Smart speaker, we’ve scoured the Internet for other selections which offer a high-quality sound system at a reasonable price.

1.  Echo Second Generation – Charcoal Speaker

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Credit: Amazon

This second-generation Echo speaker delivers crisp vocals and dynamic bass throughout the room. You can play music from a variety of apps, including Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and more. If you choose to connect to Amazon Music, you can narrow your search by lyrics, time and genre. Alternatively, allow Alexa to pick a song for you based off of your music history. This is an excellent alternative to the Sonos Smart speaker because it does more than deliver excellent quality music, but also acts as a music alarm. Start your day by listening to your favourite song or playlist. On the other hand, listen to podcasts, radio stations and audiobooks from Audible. The options really are endless with the second-generation Echo speaker.

Use the Echo to switch on your lamp before getting out of bed, dim the lights, or turn on the coffee maker in the kitchen. Achieve all of this without you even having to move. You can control multiple devices at scheduled times or with a single voice command, such as locking doors or turning off the lights. With the Echo, you can talk to almost anyone hands-free without. Making phone calls with Alexa is easy. Your contacts will see your number and recognise who’s calling without using your mobile device. Simply set up your voice profile and Alexa will recognise your voice. For example, say “Alexa, call mom”. You can also send a voice or text message to anyone with a supported Echo device.

2. Onkyo Envision Cinema Channel Bluetooth Speaker

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Credit: Amazon

If space and budget is a problem, this Onkyo speaker offers excellent sound quality in a unique 2.1-channel package in a sleek design. The real beauty of this system lies in its convenience. The control centre is programmed for use with most TV remote controllers and automatically turns on with your television and responds to volume commands from your TV remote.

Featuring two sculpted speakers, it can be mounted in a variety of ways on the wall or entertainment unit. The system is also great for music, with the Bluetooth allowed you to stream from your phone, tablet or laptop. Place anywhere in the room you’d like and the wireless implementation extends to the powered subwoofer. This is a handy feature which is acts as a useful home theatre system.

The unique detachable stand enables you to position your speakers how you like them. This includes upright, laid flat, on the wall or either side of your TV. If furniture space is an issue, attractively display the speakers on the wall to enhance the sound quality. The dialog mode is a handy feature so you no longer have to strain to follow speech in a movie or TV program. The voices are rendered more distinctly, so you can sit back, relax and enjoy the show. Thanks to the unit converting high levels of efficiency, it means less energy is wastes as heat.

3. Bose SoundLink Micro Bluetooth Speaker

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Credit: Amazon

The Bose SoundLink is a suitable alternative to the Sonos Smart speaker if you’re looking for excellent sound quality in a smaller speaker which is more practical for moving to different locations. This delivers loud and clear sound – even outdoors. Thanks to its passive radiators and custom-mounted transducer, it’s highly suited for outdoor use. Don’t worry if you drop it in the pool either, as you can just dry it off and continue playing. The rugged exterior and tear-resistant silicone strap makes it easy to carry around so you can take it on life’s adventures with you. With the rechargeable lithium-ion battery, you can enjoy up to six hours play time without any cords.

Easily pair your smartphone and with Bluetooth connectivity to play music whenever you’re ready. The built-in speakerphone also enables you to use voice access to your phone’s Siri or Google Assistant. If you like your music loud, use the free Bose Connect app to pair with additional Bose Bluetooth speakers. Available in a variety of colours, it’s elegant and stylish and well-suited for a variety of tastes. We love that you can bring this speaker with you wherever you are. The tear-resistant silicone strap easily attaches to your bike handlebars, cooler or backpack and holds it tight every time.

4. Sony SRSX9 High-Resolution Bluetooth Wi-Fi Speaker

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Credit: Amazon

If volume is the most important aspect of a speaker for you, then you’ll love this Sony High-Resolution speaker. These seven speakers are tuned to deliver loud, clear sound without any distortion. The 4 Super Tweeters generate a wide sound to fill the room and get the party started. A subwoofer and dual passive radiators round out the mix to deliver crisps melodies with precise lyrics. With two USB ports available, we love that you can stream and charge your device at the same time. This handy feature is an excellent alternative to the Sonos Smart speaker as it ensures your phone doesn’t run out of battery and end the party early.

Bring your favourite music tracks to life with the two Sony-unique audio technologies which render a vibrant sound field with immersive bass and pronounced highs. The wireless streaming feature isn’t just unique to the Sony brand, but we love how quick and easy it is to set up. Enjoy simplified Bluetooth connectivity with Near Field Communications technology. That means no more turning off and on in the hope of getting a better connection.


Would You Purchase the Sonos Smart Speaker?

If you’ve been searching for a reliable speaker which carefully considers the listeners’ needs, we highly recommend the Sonos Smart speaker. With years’ research and hard work, the team behind the brand bring you efficient quality to enjoy music, podcasts and even audiobooks.

After reading about its amazing capabilities, would you purchase this speaker? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. And, if you enjoyed this article, share it with your friends.

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